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Reviews
Star (2001)
Madonna stars in the comic relief of the "The Hire" series
At this point, the fourth movie in the series, we've seen 4 great cars in action, we've seen the amazing, ballet-like skill of the driver, drama in addition to action, emotion and depth added to the main character, and some fun big-star cameos.
Now it's time for some humor.
This one not only does (in my opinion) the best job of showing off the featured car, but it does so keeping you laughing the entire time, and humiliating Madonna the entire way (who doesn't want to see that?).
The Driver is hired on the spot to transfer this HUGE pop star from the hotel to the "venue" where she is scheduled to perform. Her attitude is a little too much for the Driver, and he decides to have a little fun. What ensues is an action filled, comedic prance through the city streets, showing us the overly desirable M5 in action.
NOT to be missed.
9/10
Powder Keg (2001)
Powerful images leave little to be desired
I will start off by saying my ONLY beef was that we didn't get to see enough of this X5 - the absolute ONLY "suv" on the streets that you can take on the race track off the showroom floor and, in 4.4 V8 trim, have run with the M3's.
That said, this film was great. Powerful, to the point, BEAUTIFULLY acted, mysterious in it's ending, and just downright superb. I will say no more - watch it, it's free.
9/10, simply because they TOYED with my heart by giving us some great X5 action, just not enough of it. :)
The Follow (2001)
The most subtle of the series, the most docile, possibly the most emotional
So, this third installment in the "The Hire" series doesn't have any hard core car chases and the cars don't even get damaged, at all! But the cars are there, and the story makes up for the lack of action.
I won't get into details, because they would give away much of the film. But, here's an incredibly brief synopsis - The driver is hired to follow an actors girlfriend out of paranoia (her in the Z3 roadster and him in the 330 ci) but along the way, we see the story take a brutal turn and we get to see the driver have a heart, for the first time.
Being halfway through the series, and taking into account what came before and after it, this is a nice break in the adrenaline that will pull on your heart-strings more than your passion for the cars and the speed, but you'll still love it.
Chosen (2001)
Crouching-Tiger style choreography meets the finest automobile in the world
Ang Lee took to the helm for this second movie in the "The Hire" series. If you think his beautiful style of choreography and cinemotography only applies to humans, or if you never thought about it before, take a look at this one, my favorite entry in the series.
The driver is hired to transport a young asian immigrant, who is obviously of some mystical importance, from the docks to a location in the city. Almost immediately after the young passenger straps in to the second-only-to-the-M5 540i 6-speed, the bad guys present themselves and the chase is on.
What follows is truly a ballet on wheels. A whole bunch of clumsy american cars and a "lesser" German car show their deficiencies to the amazing skill and ability of The Driver and his performance machine.
A first for the series occurs in this film when we see The Driver take a role outside of the car, and you'll see that the role that is played adds a depth to the Driver, and the storyline.
On a cool side-note, you'll notice a certain...er... "character"... imprinted on the gift that the young passenger gives to The Driver - this was a subtle reference by Ang Lee that completely put to rest rumors that had been floating around the net, and concretely said to the world - "Yes, I am directing this movie due out in 2003"
take notice.
:)
Overall, though all the other films had great things to offer ("The Star" being absolutely hilarious), this is my favorite. 10/10
Ambush (2001)
A great start to the "The Hire" series of short films
BMW had a great, unique idea when it hired 5 big Hollywood directors to make 5 short films showing off their cars. Ambush was a perfect start to the series - going in, you don't know what to expect but after this first short, you're hooked and you're looking forward to watching the next in the series.
Of all 5 of the movies, this one is the most basic. Very little to think about here - there's a powerful 7-series being driven down a dark road, and a van pulls up and "provokes" a short, adrenaline filled, unique, and effective car chase. Straight-up "show off the car", especially compared to the next 4 in the series, but also straight-up fun.
Watch this one - it's a fairly small download by today's standards - then watch the other 4 because a couple of them are even better.